It is indeed shocking that postal-department delivers highly subsidised rubber-stamped (printed) post-cards of just 50 paise each to Akashvani (All India Radio) where senders write any song for the programme of listeners-choice of film songs just to get their names broadcast on Akashvani. According to rules, these rubber-stamped post-cards should be considered as printed post-cards carrying a postal-tariff of Rs 6, and must not be delivered to Akashvani.
Bitter fact is that subsidised post-cards are not being used by common people. These are also misused for commercial purposes like by chit-fund companies to send reminders for payments. Ideally such unpopular postal-items like post-cards and Inland-Letter-Cards must now be discontinued to prevent unnecessary subsidy-loss on public-exchequer. Even if some of these are required to be continued, only sponsored Meghdoot Post-cards should be there with a postal-tariff of Rs 1. It is ridiculous to price post-card at 50 or 25 paise when coins of these denominations are totally out of sight. Rubber-stamped post-cards should be dumped without delivery or return-back. Inland-Letter-Cards should be totally discontinued. Likewise, it is ridiculous to allow registered news-papers having nominal postal-tariff of just 25 paise in name of helping small newspapers. With cost of inputs for production of newspapers including small ones having risen manifolds, postal-charges should be raised to minimum Rs 1. There will be huge postal-subsidy even if minimum postal-tariff is fixed at Rs 1.
Madhu Agrawal
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
